Revelations of Vengence
by Kristin4
Summary: Sequel to Interesting Revelations, someone wants revenge, and while they fight him others attempt to destroy their happiness, how can they fix this one? Max/Kenny and other characters included.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **Thanks to all my loyal fans who are reading my work and checking out this one. If you are the fans of the original work then you know this is the sequel to Interesting Revelations, read that one before this one or this one might not make sense later on. Thanks and remember reviews are the best thing in the world, they help me keep on writing. I told you all I was thinking of a sequel and with my illness getting worse and everything, I felt like it was a good time to start writing it.

Disclaimer: As always, if you don't know it by now, I do not own Picket Fences, or the main characters from the show, Kenny, Max, Jimmy, Matthew, Zach, Kim, Jill, Carter or anyone else from the original cast that I might mention. I do own Ella and the killers, I also own the plot line, I hope LOL, so please don't copy me, I had someone decide to plagerize my work already and it bugs me when people steal so I don't do it, please don't do it either. I have no money, so please don't sue me owners of the show, lol.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Max was really annoyed as she was sat in the living room. She was twisting her wedding band on her left ring finger, and glancing at the clock. She had left work early that day because Ella's daycare worker had called and said she wasn't feeling well and was running a fever. Max had made Kenny promise to be home on time that night, it was their wedding anniversary, and he was now three hours late. She sighed when she saw Ella toddling out of her bedroom, now that she had a big girl bed she wouldn't stay in there unless she was out cold.

"What's the matter baby?" Max asked as Ella walked to her and lifted her arms to be picked up.

"Bad dweam." Ella said in her baby voice. Ella made all her R's sound like W's at the moment, but she was only two.

"Mommy is sorry. Do you want a sippy cup of milk?" Max asked her with a gentle smile as she brushed some of her curls behind her ear.

"Yes pease." Ella said. That was something that both Kenny and Max were proud of, their daughter had amazing manners and always used them.

Max got up and put Ella on her hip as she walked into the kitchen. Once in there she got Ella her favorite princess sippy cup and she filled it with milk. After she handed it to her daughter she gently rocked with her in her arms.

"Dada?" Ella asked her mom, basically asking where he was.

"At work baby." Max said, keeping her voice soft and keeping the anger out of it as she heard the front door open and close. She heard the dead bolt engaging and she walked there and saw Kenny standing there with a gift, flowers and a bloody, dirty, sweaty uniform on. Max knew immediately something bad had happened.

"Dada huwt?" Ella asked, her eyes wide with fear.

"Hey princess, why aren't you in bed?" He asked as he winced, not wanting her to see him like this.

"She just woke up, she had a bad dream, which is what usually happens when she's sick." Max said quietly. Her eyes went over Kenny from head to toe, looking for any injuries.

"I will put these on the counter and jump in the shower. I know you're mad I'm late but I promise I have a very good reason for it." Kenny informed her with a soft grin.

"Okay. You go shower and change while I attempt to get her back to bed." Max said sighing.

"Dada tuck me in." Ella said pouting.

"All right. Let daddy change and shower and he can come in and give you a kiss goodnight." Max said softly.

It took another three hours to get Ella to sleep before they were able to finally go and talk with each other alone. Max could tell that Kenny was nervous that he wouldn't let him explain why he wasn't home on time earlier tonight.

"Baby, I know that I screwed up but…" Kenny stopped when he saw Max hold her hand up to stop him.

"Just tell me what happened." She said softly.

"I was getting ready to leave the office when Jimmy said we had an emergency and he needed me. We asked to the scene and saw Cara, Lana's old college roommate, lying dead in the middle of a field. When we got closer there was a warning carved into her stomach. It may be related to two years ago." Kenny said softly. "As we were wrapping up the scene someone was shooting at us, Deputy Thompson was shot. I was putting pressure on the wound to staunch the bleeding till the light flight helicopter came to pick him up."

"Oh god. Is he going to be all right? Did we get the shooter?" Max asked going pale as she realized Kenny could have been killed tonight.

"Thompson is holding his own and yeah we got him. He said he was hired by some guy he didn't see, to just fire at us, just to piss us off." Kenny said frowning. "Babe, I got a real bad feeling."

* * *

He grinned as he looked at the pictures that were on the wall of his new enemies. They had no idea who he was or why he was there. He was pretty sure he would be able to sneak up on them and he was going to make them so sorry. He had a huge plan and he was going to make sure that they paid, big time.

"Deputy Maxine Stewart-Lacos and Deputy Kenneth Lacos are married with a daughter." He mimicked sarcastically, pissed that they were living happily ever after together. "I am going to end that for you, even if it means doing something I don't normally do, go after your kid." He said with a look towards the family portrait he had paid someone to take of them when they had gone to the park.

* * *

Max walked into the office and sat at her desk, across from Kenny's. She watched him walk over and set a cup of coffee in front of her and a cup on his desk. He grinned at her as she blushed, knowing he knew she was so exhausted and worn out from their night last night. So much so that she needed coffee to stay awake.

"Thank you." Max murmured.

"No problem." Kenny stated and then he frowned as a young woman walked in.

Max turned around and saw this woman eyeing Kenny as she started towards his desk. Max turned back to her husband and saw him shaking his head.

"Problems?" Max asked her husband, arching an eyebrow because she could tell already there was something about this woman that he hadn't told her.

"Just that she seems to think she has a shot at stealing me from my wife." Kenny said with a low murmur. The woman in question was the new Deputy and she had been in love with Kenny since she had first started there, and she didn't have a clue that Kenny and Max were married.

"Do I have to hurt her for you?" Max asked him, teasingly.

"Nah, I am just planning to ignore her." Kenny said shrugging his shoulders as the woman approached their desks.

"I was wondering, ma'am, if maybe we could switch desks? I am trying to get Kenny to see I am the right woman for him, and that his cold wife is a nobody, and Deputy Stewart, I really think I could do it better sitting across from him." She told Max with a hopeful look.

"Like…"Kenny stopped before he cussed, seeing the kids that were in there. "My partner, who is also my wife, is staying at her desk. Listen to me, and listen carefully, stay away from me and my family." Kenny nearly growled out and he watched with a smug look as the woman paled and then walked away from their desks. "See, taken care of."

Max knew that Kenny thought everything would be okay, but she had a feeling that it wasn't just that woman that was going to cause them problems. She looked down at the crime scene pictures from the night before, she saw the words but it was the symbol carved into her chest that stood out to her, and she knew that it meant trouble and she was sure it was going to be trouble she and Kenny might not be able to overcome this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: **Thanks to everyone that is reviewing, I am glad that you are reading this story. I had promised a sequel I am just sorry it took me so long to write it. I am also having a rough time at the moment. My health has gotten worse and I am sorry to have to really say my Great Grandmother, who I have been extremely close to, my whole life, passed away at 4am on Oct 24th. I am asking that you please be patient with me and please be nice with the reviews, I think I have enough on my plate at the moment without negative thoughts. If there is anything that is confusing you or you have a question about, please Private Message me and i will be happy to answer any questions and explain anything to you.

I am hoping you will be patient with the amount of time between posts, i am not sure how much time will pass but I will try not to let it be too long. I ask that you be patient if the story gets a little sidetracked, mainly because this is a heavy and devastating loss for me. Thank you as always for reading and reviewing and I hope you enjoy the story. Please review, they make me work faster, hint hint.

Kris

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Max looked up as she heard the door to Jimmy's office slam shut and she frowned. Jimmy had been leaving his office door open a lot more lately, but it seemed that for some reason he had decided to close it, and he had closed it with enough force that the pictures and plaques on the wall near the area were shaking, and one of them even fell off the wall. Max leaned back in her chair and studied the closed office door, since she couldn't see into the office because Jimmy had also shut all the blinds in the office, making it impossible for anyone to know what was going on in there. Max knew that could only mean that something really bad had happened, someone had said something to piss him off or something was going on at home that he was having a hard time dealing with and he wanted to get it out of his system in the office, before heading home to Jill and the boys.

Max shook her head and then turned her attention back to the things that were on her desk and started to go over all the witness statements that Kenny had given her. They were still looking for anyone, that might have saw, heard or maybe even already knew something that nobody had realized was important. Max knew that Kenny was still with Lana, his cousin, and her husband and son. Kenny knew that Lana and Michael had gotten married just a couple weeks after Lana had given birth, which had changed her name from Lana Reynolds, to Lana Anderson. Max was also glad that Deputy Lana Jacobs, the thorn in her side during that whole incident a couple years ago when she was pregnant with Ella and had a serial killer that was after her, had been killed in the line of duty just ten months ago.

Max looked up again as someone sat down in Kenny's chair and slammed a notebook on his desk. She smiled when she saw her husband and then frowned when she saw the look on his face. She knew that Lana was very close to Cara, that the two girls had not only been college roommates, but they had been best friends and Lana had confirmed that Cara was on her way out here to tell Lana some good news.

"Did you find out what her good news was?" Max asked him softly.

"She was getting married, to the young man she had been in love with for seven years, since high school." Kenny said shaking his head. "She was finally getting everything she wanted, they were planning to start a family real soon after they married and she was marrying the man of her dreams, and now she's dead, murdered here in our town."

"We will get justice for her Kenny, we will take care of this." Max whispered, seeing the guilt and pain on her husbands face.

"I hope so." Kenny whispered softly.

* * *

He was watching the little girl as she ran and played with the other kids. All the kids were laughing and having a good time, and she was as well. Her hair was in pig tails, braided pig tails, and she was wearing a dress with a turtleneck underneath and leggings. She was wearing little princess tennis shoes and he laughed at the way they were lighting up and she was squealing in delight and pointing it out to her friends. He saw all the other little girls laugh and point at them and then they would start running again, almost like they were playing some new made up game that only they knew about. He shook his head and sighed, he hated that he would have to use the toddler in his game against her parents, but the damage they did could not go unpunished. They thought that because they were police officers they could do whatever they wanted, and that wasn't the case. So he was sitting there, trying to decide when he had to make his move, when he would start his official part of the plan. He had already killed once, and the young woman that was tied up in his trunk would be the next warning to the officers, but somehow he didn't think they were getting his messages. He was going to have to be a little more obvious.

* * *

Max was smiling as she picked Ella up from her daycare place and buckled her safely into her car seat. Once she was sure the little girl was secure she drove towards home and listened to her daughter chatting away, talking about her friends and what they did that day. Although Ella was two and able to talk, at times she still reverted back to her little baby talk and so there were times that Max couldn't understand what she was saying, but she knew to nod her head and just agree and say the proper praise words like, 'wow, and 'really?'. Max pulled into the driveway and winced when Ella squealed in excitement as Kenny pulled in next to her.

"Hey, I thought you had a few errands to run?" Max asked him softly.

"I did, I stopped and made a deposit at the bank and then I grabbed dinner for us and I got that movie that you said you wanted to get, the new release of the Disney movie." Kenny told her.

Max smiled and kissed him as she took the food and movie from him and handed over her car keys. "Lock it after you get her out, it's obvious she really wants daddy right now." Max teased as she stood there and watched as Kenny's eyes lit up and he went and got Ella out of the car and locked it. He carried the toddler on his hip and they all walked into the house.

Max dished up dinner but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She pushed the curtains that covered the kitchen window aside and looked outside but there didn't appear to be anyone out there, nothing out of the ordinary. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened and that someone was out there, someone was watching the house and the family inside. Max shivered, a cold feeling going down her spine. After she put the food on plates she put it on the table, but she kept glancing at the windows and doors that led to the front yard, she couldn't shake the bad feeling, the feeling that there was danger close by.

All through dinner she kept glancing in the direction of the front of the house. She glanced at Kenny when she heard him clearing his throat and she saw the concerned look on his face and the arched eyebrow, she knew he was asking her what the problem was and she shook her head. She knew he would say she was being paranoid, mainly because no one was out there. She just had to shake it off, she had her gun and Kenny had his, they would keep their little girl safe, she prayed that they would keep their little girl safe.

* * *

He was laughing harder and harder. He knew that she knew he was out there, but she couldn't see him. She would find out soon enough what happened, she would find out that yes he had been out there, when they woke up tomorrow morning, they would see proof that he was out there.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Max was worried as she walked into the kitchen the next morning. She started making breakfast but since it was a weekend, she and Kenny had nowhere to be. They were taking this weekend off and planning to spend time with Ella, just the three of them. Max was a little nervous though, she knew that Kenny had something else on his mind, something other than work related issues, like solving Cara's murder. Max knew that Kenny wanted another baby, he wanted to add to their family. She had found out that Kenny wanted a big family and since Ella was a toddler now, he felt like they should be working on adding another baby to the family.

As she started the bacon and the eggs, she was trying to think of what she wanted. She wasn't sure whether or not she could handle getting pregnant right now, especially when she had a feeling there was something going on that she didn't think that would allow her to have a healthy and stress free pregnancy. She looked up as Kenny walked in with Ella on his hip.

"Ella used the big girl potty." Kenny said with a smile. They were potty training their little girl at the moment and Max smiled and gave Ella the proper praise that made the little girl smile shyly.

"Bweakfast?" Ella asked her, still having trouble with the r's.

"Yes, mommy is making breakfast this morning." Max said as she started some sausage as well. She would make the toast last.

"Mmm… smells good honey." Kenny said as he kissed her neck, and hugged her from behind. "Jill asked if she could take Ella for the weekend, she said that she is trying to convince Jimmy that they need another little one and she is hoping if they have Ella this weekend, it might make him want to try for another little baby."

"This is family weekend." Max said turning in his arms and facing him.

"True, but if Ella helps Jill make her point this weekend, then it would mean that we would have some private time, just you and me, alone in our nice house." Kenny said arching his eyebrows as he made his suggestion.

"All right, why don't you just tell me what it is you want to say?" Max asked knowing what he was going to say but trying to get him to say it anyway.

"I think we should work on baby number 2 ourselves this weekend Max. Ella has been asking for a little brother or sister, and we both agreed we would have more kids. I don't see why we can't work on trying to conceive another baby. We could even go and make it special, maybe check into a suite at a hotel, go away for the weekend, just the two of us." Kenny suggested.

Max studied him, as much as she was sure something was going on she didn't want to disappoint him and it did sound good, the two of them alone all weekend, just spending time together. She looked over at Ella and then turned around and kept working on breakfast. "All right, fine. You should pack some stuff for her and then some of our stuff. Call Jill, and see what time she wants her and make…" Max was cut off by her husband.

"Already did all of that. I packed her bags and our bags. I made us a reservation a few towns away, in the big city, at the nice hotel you always wanted to stay at. Everything is all set up." Kenny said and Max just shook her head.

* * *

He was not happy when he realized that his message was missed. He saw the coroner taking away the body, but Kenny had blocked Ella from seeing the body on the front lawn and Jill, the Sheriff's wife, had come and picked her up, taking her and some suitcases with her. After another hour of going over some things, he watched as Kenny loaded some of their stuff into the car. He knew that their house was a crime scene for now, the tape all around it, and so it appeared like they were leaving the house behind. He was sure that they weren't going to be doing anything fun, they were going to be thinking about what they had seen on their lawn, and they would know he was in town and that they were his targets now, he was going to make them pay and he was going to make sure that everything they attempted was stopped and that they were never happy again.

* * *

Jimmy smiled as he watched Jill with Ella. He knew what she was up to but he also knew that she loved having the little girl around and so he was going to let her try and make her point. Jimmy looked up as the door opened and he saw Kimberly walking in. He remembered she had served her time, after what happened with Max and Kenny a couple years ago, when Max was carrying Ella, and she had been released on probation. Max and Kenny had both actually asked the judge to be lenient with Kim, something Jimmy would be grateful for, and they had allowed for Kim to come home to him and they weren't banning her from being around Ella.

"How did your meeting with your probation officer go?" Jimmy asked her as Jill started reading a book to Ella.

"Fine, Max and Kenny let Ella come over here? They know I am living here right now, right?" Kim asked, nervous about being around Ella when she had done so much wrong to her mother and her father when they were expecting her.

"Yes they know. Kim, they are the reason you didn't have to spend a whole five years behind bars and why the judge was lenient with you. They know that man had a hold on you, something we all understand but we need to make sure that it doesn't happen again. I need to know that if someone tries to get you to do things like that, that you will come clean to me or Jill or even Max and Kenny." Jimmy said, knowing that whoever had started killing in their town had sent the message to Max and Kenny and it was clear, they were targeted and he was really hoping Kimberly didn't get involved, again.

"I promise." Kim said seriously. "I need to work on the stuff my probation officer gave me, but I will start dinner in a bit, I know it's my night."

"Okay." Jimmy said nodding his head slowly.

* * *

Max didn't let Kenny know that she the feeling she had was making it clear that the reason that body was dumped on their front lawn, was because they were targeted, again. She knew something was going on, she knew someone was after them again, now she just needed to try and figure out why.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Max was in shock as she walked into the hotel that Kenny had booked them in. She knew there was no way that they could afford this place on their own and was wondering who put up some money for them to be able to spend some time here. She was looking around the lobby, the one that had fancy couches and chairs, a gorgeous, huge fountain sitting in the middle of the lobby and the uniforms that the staff were wearing were high end, that was something that Max noticed immediately. She turned around and walked over to the desk, standing next to Kenny who smiled at her and put his arm around her waist. He kissed her temple as he grabbed their keys, and nodded as the bellhop pushed their luggage on this huge gold cart.

"Kenny, this place looks majorly expensive." Max whispered nervously as they headed to the elevator.

"It is, but if you recall, my family is loaded, and when I told them we were planning on trying for another baby, they were more than willing to front the bill for the hotel and any food or any other expenses from in here." Kenny said, admitting the truth, something Max knew was eating at him. Ever since his cousin had moved into town, especially wanting to be close after they had saved her life and the life of her unborn child, it had made Kenny's family, the same family who had been angry that he had stayed away from the family business, decide to be more involved in his life, grateful for his job at the station.

"I thought you didn't like letting your family front the bills for anything?" Max asked as she felt grateful he was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy, and she had no doubt that the only reason he allowed them to pick up the tab was because of her.

"Well, you are worth so much to me and I am more than willing to swallow my pride and let them help when it comes down to it. Which reminds me, I had to make a promise in order for them to do this." Kenny said with a wince.

"And what was that?" Max asked, getting a little nervous at that statement.

"I promised that next weekend we had off, which is next weekend, we would take Ella up to visit the family if there was no work emergency." Kenny said with a wince as they arrived on their floor, the top floor.

Max smiled and she kissed him on the lips slowly. "I think that's a great idea. Ella loves spending time with your family, I think it has to do with all the animals they have on their…." Max trailed off as she realized they were in the penthouse suite, now she knew they were definitely fronting the whole bill because they couldn't even afford two hours inside that suite, let alone a whole weekend.

"I thought you might like this room." He murmured as they entered the room and she slowly looked around the suite while Kenny tipped the bellhop who smiled at them.

When they were all alone in the room they both explored, taking their bags into the bedroom area and were in shock that there were sections in the suite, that it wasn't just a bed, TV and a small table and two chairs. There were separate rooms for just about everything and the bathroom was amazing, something that Max was so in love with, she was wondering if they could take pictures and attempt to redo their home bathroom in this same way at some point.

* * *

Jill was laughing as Ella ran around the house, squealing in joy after eating a special cookie that Matthew and Zack had managed to sneak to her. Jill had been warned that sugar made the toddler super hyper and she was seeing that first hand, however it still made her want to have another child and it seemed to make the boys want a little sister because they were chasing her, and telling her to be careful if it looked like she might slide into something or fall and hurt herself. Jill smiled softly, it was something she had always loved seeing, something that meant a lot to her and the thought that another baby might bring their family back together was sitting there in her mind and there was no way she could get rid of it, she had to find a way to convince Jimmy that they should try for another baby, that another little one running around the house would be worth so much.

"Mom, how come you didn't try for a little sister after Zack?" Matthew asked as he collapsed onto the chair next to the couch, breathing deeply and attempting to catch his breath.

"We just thought that three kids was enough for us. We had Kim, and then the two of you, it just seemed like we were fine with that." Jill said as she reached over and tousled her oldest sons hair.

"Well, dad said that you convinced Max and Kenny to let Ella come here so you could try and talk him into another baby, and I think that would be a great idea." Matthew said as he watched Zack catch Ella and start tickling her as she squealed in delight. "I think it would be good for the two of you, and it might be good for Kim. She might be able to find a way to redeem herself after everything she did a couple years ago. Can you believe if she had succeeded we wouldn't have Max or little Ella?" Matthew asked softly, hoping his older sister didn't hear him and he didn't hurt her feelings.

"I know, but we have to be grateful that we do have both of them with us now." Jill said with a gentle smile as Ella jumped on top of Zack and tried to tickle him back and it was clear that he was pretending she was succeeding and he was faking the laughter he was releasing from inside. "Get him real good Ella." Jill encouraged her and she squealed in delight even more.

* * *

He was pacing back and forth as he looked over the pictures he had hanging on his wall. He wondered if Jimmy would call Max and Kenny back into town if he killed someone again and left a message for them, he had to find a way to make sure they came back to town and that he got a shot at ruining their lives, and maybe taking Max out for good.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Max was laughing as she and Kenny left the local theater. They had just gone out to dinner and then to a late night movie, something they hadn't been able to do for a very long time and the movie had turned out to be a comedy and Max still couldn't stop laughing. As they started walking back towards the hotel, which was only a couple of blocks away from where they were, Max could tell that Kenny had something on his mind because he was being very quiet and didn't seem to notice when she had stopped talking or laughing. He continued nodding his head and saying, um hmmm, repeatedly. Almost like it was a natural response to something she was saying, only she wasn't saying anything at all.

"Kenny?" Max asked softly after a few minutes.

"Yeah?" Kenny finally snapped out of his daze and looked over at his wife. He could tell immediately that she was upset with him, and he couldn't blame her. "I'm sorry babe, I just had to think about all the murders that were starting up and the fact that there was a body dumped on our front lawn."

"I know, but we promised we wouldn't try and think about it or solve the case or even work the case while we were here. Kenny, when we get back to Rome, we are going to be buried knee deep in reports and forensics and witness statements and we are going to be worn out and exhausted. That's why we need to take this time that we have together right now and just relax and pretend there is no huge case waiting for us at home. We have to trust that the rest of the department can handle a case like this without us, besides Jimmy is handling everything and he has been a cop longer than we have, he is the Sheriff after all." Max pointed out as they made it back to their hotel and started into the lobby and headed for the elevators. "Besides, I thought we were talking about another child, I don't think that we can even work on that if you are thinking about homicides and dead bodies, it's not exactly romantic to think about."

"True." Kenny said as a smirk suddenly appeared on his face. "I think we need to hurry back to our room."

"Do you now?" Max asked teasingly as they got to the elevator and waited for it to come to them.

"Oh yeah, and I think we need to practice." Kenny said with a very serious and innocent look on his face, almost like he was trying to convince her that it was something that needed to be done rather than something he really wanted to do.

Max laughed and shook her head as they entered the elevator and Kenny swiped his key card through the device inside that let the elevator know where to go. The only button you pushed was to call the elevator, the only way to get the elevator to move to a floor was to use your key card so that it would know where to go and that you were a guest in the hotel automatically. It was a brand new system and Max had already stated that it made her more than a little nervous.

* * *

He was getting frustrated as he watched the cops at his latest crime scene. He had the Sheriff's Departments phone lines tapped, as well as Sheriff Brock's home phone and cell phone, and not once did he order Max and Kenny to return home. He was letting them stay where they were, and he was letting them be alone together and not worrying about what was going on in the town. He was not only frustrated, but he was getting very angry. He needed to come up with another plan, a plan to let the Sheriff know that he was making him very angry, because this wasn't working anymore. He was not thrilled that his main target had managed to find a way to leave town instead of going to the crime scenes where he left certain hidden messages, just for her there. He looked around and wondered who he could go after that would make the Sheriff realize he had screwed up, and then the new plan formed inside his head and he knew he would need to work very hard on it, because this one he couldn't screw up. When he was finished, Max and Kenny would have to be called back home, this had to work.

* * *

Jill was smiling as she pushed the grocery cart with Ella sitting in the seat in the cart and Zack and Matthew walking with her. Kimberly had opted to stay home that time because she had stated she wasn't feeling well, but Jill knew it was because she wasn't comfortable around Ella at the moment, not after she had nearly had her mother killed while she was pregnant with Ella. Jill knew it was eating away at her daughter but there was nothing she could do to help her, this was something that Kimberly needed to handle on her own. Matthew was holding the list that had been made and was the one putting things in the cart while Zack seemed bored. Even though her boys were pretty grown up, they weren't even close to being little kids anymore, she was glad they still agreed to go with her on shopping and errand trips, she was going to miss them when they left home.

"Mom, which flavor did you need on this ice cream?" Matthew asked her suddenly.

"Go ahead and choose a couple." Jill said shrugging her shoulders. She didn't normally buy junk food, she was a doctor and she believed in nutrition and only healthy meals, but she figured with her kids growing up it couldn't hurt to splurge just a tiny bit here or there. She had kept ice cream around, but she drew the line at a lot of other things, things she was willing to allow them now.

"Did you talk to dad about another baby?" Matthew asked as he allowed his brother to choose the flavors.

"Not yet, with Max and Kenny gone he has been working super hard on the case that is happening right now.' Jill said shaking her head. "When they get back into town I will have a sit down conversation with him, but I think we might be on the same page this time." Jill said, she had seen the way that Jimmy had played with Ella and the way he had checked on her when they had put her to bed at night. Jill had no doubts that Jimmy was really into having another child.

* * *

He was sure that his plan was ready for implementing and that soon he would get Max and Kenny back into Rome and when they were back into town, he was going to make Max wish she had never messed with his family, or his friends, ever.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Max laughed as she listened to her daughter babble away on the phone. She loved hearing her daughters voice, and even though she missed her little girl, she knew it was a good thing she and Kenny had gone on this trip and just spent time with each other. She laughed again as Ella attempted to tell a joke, but she was still really little so some of the words turned into baby talk words that you couldn't understand. Max knew why Kenny wanted another baby so badly, he had made it clear it was something that was important to him and Max couldn't blame him for that. Sighing she looked up as Kenny finally walked into the room.

"Ella, wanna talk to daddy?" she said and when her daughter squealed in delight Max laughed and handed Kenny the phone, seeing his eyes light up in delight at the mention of their little princess.

"Hey princess, it's daddy." Kenny said as he walked over and sat on the couch in their suite.

It seemed like they were on the phone with their little princess for over an hour when they were finally able to hang up the phone, both of them wearing a goofy smile that they couldn't seem to wipe off their faces.

"She is getting so grown up." Max said with a sigh of disappointment.

"Well, that's why she needs a little brother or sister, and soon." Kenny said as he tackled Max back on the couch and kissed her deeply on the mouth.

"Hmm…maybe so." Max said as she broke the kiss and smiled at her husband.

* * *

Jimmy knew there was something he had to be missing, only he wasn't sure he knew what it was. He looked around him and wondered what it was that he was missing and if it was going to be something that could cause major problems with the case. He leaned back in his office chair, staring out his open door at the Deputies that were working in the station house. He looked at the empty desks that belonged to his two top deputies, Max and Kenny and wondered if he was making a mistake in not calling them back here. He knew they had been through a lot, but he also knew they were a target for this guy, for some reason or another. It seemed like this killer had his or her own agenda and for some reason Kenny and Max were involved, he could only pray that his maniac wouldn't be so cold as to drag their toddler into the middle of this war, like a certain past psycho had done before him. Jimmy wasn't sure if Rome could take another serial killer running around again.

"Jimmy, just the man I wanted to see." A man walked into the office, a man that Jimmy didn't recognize.

"First of all, it's Sheriff Brock, and second of all, unless we have an appointment I am working a very serious case right now and don't have time for you." Jimmy said, hoping this wasn't another big city reporter that thought he could boost his career by hanging around this town and bugging the folks about all the violence and killers over the years. Jimmy hated thinking of all the bad people that had come around this small like town or city, depending on who you talked to, but he was proud that he had been able to either arrest or watch as they died in some manner over the years. He had done his job, he had seen justice done for the people of Rome and what he didn't need was a big city reporter coming around and questioning his activities or his effectiveness.

"Look, Sheriff, I am aware that you may lose your rank here." The man said with a smirk as he sat down across from Jimmy.

"Excuse me?" Jimmy asked, shocked, especially since this was the first he had heard of that.

"Look, you have another killer on the loose and it seems to me that you can't keep your town under control, nor do you manage to keep people from killing people. Your own daughter went to jail for helping someone try to kill one of your own deputies." The man said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I am here so I can make people see that you are doing your job to the best of your abilities and that you should retain your rank and stay the Sheriff."

"Why?" Jimmy asked, he was getting a bit suspicious now.

"Because I know what it's like when people only see the bad and don't see the good things you have managed to pull off." The man said with a sigh. "I want to make sure they see all the good you have done for this town and that they understand, no place is completely crime free but if you have a Sheriff that solves the cases and gets justice, then that is what's important."

Jimmy wasn't sure what was going on here, but he had a feeling that he should keep this guy close and keep an eye on him. "What is exactly you plan to do for me?" Jimmy asked and he listened closely to every word the man in front of him said.

* * *

Jill sighed as she watched Matthew and Zach play with Ella. They were certainly loving every single moment they got to spend with the little girl and she realized how much they really wanted another little sibling. She knew that both she and Jimmy were a lot older now and that having another baby could be difficult, it was also something she really wanted to do and she was still hoping that Jimmy would want to do it as well. She knew that Ella missed her mommy and daddy, she could tell after the little girl had handed her the phone again after talking to both Max and Kenny. Jill could tell it was really hard for the two of them to stay away from their daughter for so long, but they had needed this time away, because everyone knew, when they got back it was probably going to be time to work really hard and catch another serial killer, another one who may have his sights on Max again.

* * *

He paced back and forth and wondered if he should kill someone again, just to let people know he was still around. He shook his head, deciding against it because there would be no fun in it if he couldn't see Maxine's face at the crime scene. He could kidnap someone, and torture them until Max and Kenny return from their little getaway. He went over to his special board and looked over the photographs there. He wasn't sure if he was ready to kill or kidnap one of the targets he had identified on the board or if he should just randomly grab someone and just have some fun. There would be no connection between anyone, and the Sheriff's department and everyone in town was going to go insane with each kill, because there was no way to know, who was going to be next or why this was happening at all.

"Soon Maxine, soon." He whispered as he once again threw a knife at the picture of Max taped to his wall. "I will make you pay real soon you stupid…." He trailed off, a smug smile on his lips. "But first it's time to choose someone who will pay for your sins in the worst way possible…." He smirked as he closed his eyes and threw a knife at a map, when he opened them he saw where it had landed and knew it was time to stake that place out to choose his random victim. It would be bad luck for anyone who actually went there while he was there.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Max laughed as she packed up her bags and watched Kenny do the same. It was time to return home and get back to work. They both had mixed feelings about returning home. On one hand they wanted to stay here and relax, not worry about going back to work looking for psychotic killers, but on the other hand they missed Ella so much that they knew returning home was the best option for both of them.

"Hey, can you believe we actually got to take any sort of a vacation?" Max asked as Kenny sighed again when he looked at the clock.

"Yeah I know that was a miracle in itself." Kenny nodded before he closed his suitcase and grabbed the photo of Ella that they had kept by the hotel bed. "It will be great to get home and see our princess though, I hated being away from her for so long." Kenny admitted with a fond smile.

"I agree." Max said as she closed her own suitcase. "However, I am not looking forward to meeting the new cops that are going to be working with us on this psycho case." Max admitted with a wince.

"Neither am I." Kenny said as they both head a knock on the door. "They are probably here for the luggage." Kenny said as he took the last of the suitcases towards the door and sat them next to the others. When he opened the door, he saw the bellhop with a cart which was pushed into the room to load all the suitcases on.

Max did one last sweep of the hotel room, making sure that nothing inadvertently got left behind. When she was sure that everything was clear, she grabbed her purse and coat, and followed Kenny and the bellhop out of the room. It was time to return to Rome and track down another psychotic killer.

* * *

Jill made sure all of Ella's things were packed up and she had to laugh at how excited the toddler was. She was constantly running to the window to look outside and she even glanced at the clock, even though she didn't know how to read it. Jill knew that Ella was close to her mommy and daddy, but actually getting to see the excitement she had over them coming home and picking her up, was amazing to her. Jill looked over as Kim sat on the couch, she was nervous about seeing Max and Kenny again. Jill knew that Max felt sorry for Kim and had only wanted her to get help, which she was doing. Kim's sessions with her therapist really seemed to be helping and Jill could only hope that Kim would never allow a guy to get her to do something as horrific as what she done, again.

"Are they here?" Ella asked, glancing from the clock to the front door, again.

Jill grinned and glanced at the clock and walked over to the door. She picked Ella up and opened the door so she could see if her mommy and daddy were there for herself. Just as Jill opened the door with Ella in her arms, Kenny pulled into the driveway and Ella struggled to get down. "Wait till the car stops sweetheart." Jill said with an even wider grin.

Suddenly Max was rushing up the walkway, so Jill set Ella down and was happy to watch the little girl run and squeal with pure delight as she headed for her mother. When she got to Max, they hugged tightly until Kenny got to them and took Ella from Max.

Max headed over towards Jill, and Jill could tell that they were just happy to be home.

"I hope she wasn't any trouble." Max said as they walked in to grab Ella's things by the door.

"No way. Ella is welcome here anytime. I think she won the hearts of everyone in the family." Jill said with a chuckle.

"Well that's good news, at least you may have a shot at getting Jimmy to accept what you want." Max said softly, it was well known that Jill really wanted to try and have another baby, really hoping for a daughter this time.

"Well, he loved playing with Ella and having her around. Since he knew you two were coming back today, he also knew we would finally have a chance to talk." Jill said as she carried a bag full of toys to the SUV where Kenny had already started strapping Ella into her car seat.

"Always a plus." Max said as they loaded everything into the trunk and then hugs were exchanged before Max and Kenny got into their SUV and left.

"I really hope I will need a car seat again, someday." Jill whispered softly, a tug on her heart let her know that she really wanted another baby, desperately wanted another baby.

* * *

He was sitting across the street, hidden away from the sight of the police officer that had been sitting on the house while Max and Kenny were out of town. As they pulled into their own garage, the man was waiting for the officer to leave but when he instead got out of the car and was laughing as he started to help Kenny with the luggage, it was getting under his skin. He was supposed to be able to see if anything had changed while he was gone. He slammed his fist into the trunk of the tree next to him and barely winced. The anger was masking his pain, and he knew he would feel the pain soon, but it didn't matter.

"Soon there won't be a soul that can stand in my way, soon Max. I wasn't going to touch you today, it's way too soon, and I haven't fully gotten started on my torment, but real soon you will see what is about to happen to you." The said as he walked to his car a few blocks away and got in and left.

* * *

Max was leaning against the wall outside Ella's room Max had, had a bad feeling all day and when it was confirmed a suspicious car was spotted a couple of blocks away from the house. Max had, had the bad feeling in her gut that told her that danger and trouble were near, and she knew that the cop that had been posted had felt the same way. As she walked into the bedroom, she collapsed onto the bed and wondered. "What's going to happen next? Who else is going to pay for something, something I don't even know anything about!" Max snapped before she picked up her badge and threw it against the wall. "Stop killing innocents and just come for me! Just me!" Max snapped into nothing and deep down she knew, she knew that something bigger than they had ever seen was about to happen and she was scared that there were a lot of people that wouldn't make it through.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Max looked at the body of the young woman and wondered what she could do to stop this creep. There had to be a reason that they were attacking and killing innocent people. Max was aware that Kenny was standing back, watching her closely. He had come into their bedroom last night, handed her, her badge back and told her that it wasn't her fault and that their daughter needed her as much as he did, that she shouldn't try and do anything stupid, she was a wife and mother now, and they weren't sure whether she was pregnant again or not.

"Max?" Kenny asked softly, not needing to fully ask the question he was thinking.

"I know, I need to just try and do my job the right way, accept help from others and hope he makes a mistake in his anger and his annoyance that we aren't catering to his demands or instructions. If he sees we aren't afraid of him, or catering to his every whim, then he could get angry enough to make a major error." Max said, and she actually agreed it was a genius plan that her husband had come up with. This guy was a narcissist and he believed that everyone was going to do everything that he said to keep him happy.

"Max, we are going to stop him, together." Kenny said, wanting to pull her into his arms and kiss her but knowing that Jimmy would have a cow if they crossed that line while working and in uniform, especially if they were at a crime scene where someone had been murdered.

"I know we will." Max said as she gave her husband her own reassuring smile, knowing that he was really worried about her.

* * *

Jill was nervous as she looked over at her newest colleague. She was nervous about whether or not she could trust her to give her this test without talking to anyone, but she realized it would be dumb to go to someone new, when her good friend from medical school had also started practicing nearby. Jill grabbed her things for her lunch break and headed to her friends latest medical offices, she had already called her the night before to ask for a favor, and it looked like she was going to have to go through with asking her friend to run these tests after all.

"I just hope that everything is going to be all right." Jill said, as she bit her bottom lip nervously, knowing she could be in for some major trouble.

* * *

Jimmy looked out at his deputies who were all talking and yelling over each other in the department office area. Jimmy had known that another body showing up would cause some major problems among the people of Rome but also the deputies who worked for him and the ones that were currently on loan to him. Jimmy was also aware that Max was not a happy camper at the moment, Jimmy had separated Max and Kenny as partners for the moment, needing his experienced deputies to work with the deputies on loan until he could be sure that he could trust them with other deputies. Max and Kenny had both been angry, even more so when they learned that the female deputy assigned to Kenny was one that he had dated a couple times, and one that seemed to still think she had a shot at getting him to sleep with her again.

Jimmy could see that Max was trying hard not to glare at Deputy Kendra David, and Jimmy honestly couldn't blame her considering the fact that she was always trying to find an excuse to touch Kenny, no matter how many times he seemed to warn her or move away. Jimmy would have put Kendra with Max but he had wanted the teams to be even with a serial killer on the loose again, he wanted it to be males with females, just in case. Jimmy was also aware that the male deputy seemed to be crushing on Max and Kenny wasn't happy about that.

"This could get interesting." Matthew said as he walked into his fathers office.

"What are you doing here?" Jimmy asked his son with an arched eyebrow.

"I am avoiding the house. Kim is acting weird, not weird like before when she went off the deep end, but weird as in she is trying too hard to make up for the weird from before." Matthew said and then frowned, knowing he made no sense at all.

"Matthew, try and explain that in a way that I can actually understand." Jimmy said with a smile.

* * *

Max smiled as Ella giggled as she played with her father. Max knew that Kenny was just as upset as she was over the assignments that Jimmy gave them at work, but there was nothing either of them could do about it and they had agreed, they weren't bringing anger about work things home with them. They wanted their home life to be calm and happy, especially for their daughter and any other children they might have together. Max turned back to the food she was making for dinner, grateful that Jill had talked her into taking that cooking class and she had managed to turn into a cook that she hadn't thought she could be. Glancing over she could see her family, her life, engrossed in a book that Ella had managed to get her daddy to start reading to her, or rather she was reading to him by reading words she was making up.

When Max had everything on the table and they were sitting at the table, she knew that no matter what she couldn't let this killer get anywhere near her family, she couldn't let him get near their daughter and she couldn't risk Kenny, ever.

* * *

He was pissed off again, but even more so than before. He threw the bottle at the family picture he had stolen from the home of Max and Kenny and their precious little girl. He was beginning to think that the only way he was going to get her attention was to go after someone that she really cared about, her daughter. He wasn't thrilled about going after a young child, actually he was loathe to attack the young toddler, but he was not going to let Max go around and be happy like this, she had to suffer and it was his job to make her suffer.

"I promise you that you are going to wish that you had just done what you were told, but now you will lose someone so precious to you that it will kill you before I ever do!" He said as he grinned at the family photo again, this time with a plan forming in his mind.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Kenny wasn't sure what to do now that Deputy Kendra David was his official partner for the time being, and it was apparent that she was determined to try and make him think badly about his wife and believe that Max wasn't the right woman for him. Kenny was trying to think of anything he could say to Jimmy to make him understand that this whole thing wasn't working out and it was actually starting to affect his marriage. Kendra seemed to like to mess up at work on purpose, knowing that Kenny would have to stay late with her at the office to fix whatever mistakes that she had made and he knew Max wasn't fond of that and she wasn't happy that he was spending less and less time with his family, especially his daughter. Ella only being a toddler, she didn't understand why daddy was never home anymore and why mommy was so upset with her daddy. He couldn't blame her, especially since he didn't like the male deputy assigned to her, the one that always tried to make her see that he wasn't good enough for her.

"Kendra, for the last time, if you don't do the evidence booking, the reports or any other thing by the book, then I am recommending to Jimmy that you be sent back to your department. I am not staying here any later, anymore." Kenny said as he finished fixing her evidence report and booking report on a case they had been handed that day. Sure they were trying to find a killer, but they still had to work other cases and still had to patrol the town, that was their job and just because there was a killer out there didn't mean that their town still didn't have issues that the cops needed to handle.

"Sorry Kenny. Hey, why don't we go grab something to eat?" Kendra asked as she placed her hand on his arm.

"Nope, I still have time to get home to see my little girl and I am going to be there. Anything else that is wrong, Deputy Thompson has volunteered to help you out with." Kenny said shaking her hand off and getting up. It was time that he get home before his daughter went to bed, he hadn't been there to put her to bed in a while.

* * *

Max wiped her face, making sure no one could tell that she had been crying. She went and started running the water for Ella's bath and when everything was ready, she went to collect the toddler who was watching one of her movies on the living room television. When she walked in she was shocked to see Kenny sitting there, cuddling with their little girl and laughing over whatever was on the screen. Kenny hadn't made it home before Ella was already in bed for a while lately. Max cleared her throat and when her daughter turned to look at her, she wanted to give in and just let her sit there with her daddy and watch the movie, but she needed to get the bath time done.

"Bath time, you can finish watching your movie with daddy after you have your bath and are in your pajama's. While you take your bath, daddy can heat up his dinner and eat it." Max said as she arched an eyebrow at Kenny, wondering if he had already eaten with Kendra again.

"Sounds like a plan to me, daddy is starving." Kenny said as he tickled Ella who giggled.

"We all watch the movie." Ella said looking at both of her parents expectantly.

"We'll see." Max simply said as she picked up the toddler and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

He loved it, he was laughing harder than he had laughed in a long time. He didn't think it was possible for someone else to help him, without knowing they were helping him but these two deputies were doing an amazing job at it. They were actually destroying Max's marriage to her little husband, Kenny. They had just had that nice little trip where they had a romantic getaway, and it looked like it wouldn't matter anymore because they were not happy. Those two deputies were making things interesting, they were tearing down Max bit by bit and it was going to be easy to get to her now and he wouldn't have to cross that line yet, he wouldn't have to go after the toddler that he didn't want to touch. As long as Kenny and Max were angry and upset with each other because of the two deputies, then he didn't have any problems with putting the rest of his plan into action. He could kill his next victim, make sure there was another big investigation that Kenny and Kendra would have to do together, just as much as Max and that male deputy, whose name he really couldn't remember, would have to do together.

"Well, making Max's life hard and deadly, well, it is getting so much easier thanks to you two fellow deputies." He said as he threw another dart at the picture of Max.

* * *

Jill wasn't sure what Jimmy was going to say when she told him what she wanted to say. She could tell that he was tired and he was worn out, dealing with everything at work and knowing how hard it was for him to see Max and Kenny's marriage slowly falling apart and all because of a decision he had made. Jill knew that it was hard for him to watch their two friends self destructing and he was worried that it would lead to a divorce because of what he had forced them to do, working with two deputies from another department who seemed determined to tear apart their marriage. Jimmy had informed Jill that he didn't think he could handle it, if Kenny and Max split up because of something he had done.

"I can only hope that they work this out and that they don't let those two deputies destroy something that they have worked so hard to keep together." Jill said softly.

"I agree." Kim said as she walked over and sat across from Jill. "Those two really do belong together, I hope that they work through this and soon."

* * *

Max was sitting at the table, watching her husband as he drank his coffee and stared at her as well. They had just put Ella to bed a few minutes ago and they both agreed that they had a conversation that needed to be had, but neither one of them knew where to start. Max didn't want her marriage to end, she loved her husband, but he spent more time with his new partner than he did at home with his family.

"I need you at home Kenny, things are getting tougher and you and I both know that she is trying to come between us on purpose. I don't let my partner come between my family and yet you do." Max said softly.

"I got Thompson to agree to take over anything else that needs to be done with my new partner. From now on, Thompson said that when my shift is over I get to go home and he will take over fixing mistakes or anything else that she attempts to do to make me stay later with her." Kenny told her softly. "I love you Max, and I don't want this woman to come between us."

"Good, because there might be a chance that I might be pregnant again…" Max said softly and she watched her husbands eyes go wide and she wondered, could they even handle another baby right now?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Max was sitting at her desk, going over another report that her partner had done, trying to make sure that he hadn't made a mistake that could cost them the case in court when she felt eyes staring at her. She lifted her head and saw her husband watching her closely and she knew why he was going it to. Ever since she had informed him a couple nights ago that she might be expecting again, he had been watching her like a hawk and nagging at her to do a pregnancy test, but Max wasn't ready to do another test and she wasn't ready for anyone else to know that there was a chance that Ella was going to be a big sister soon. Max knew that this new killer had a problem with her, and her main fear was that if he found out that she might be having another baby with Kenny, he might go off the deep end and do something off the charts worse than he had been doing. Max knew that this creepy psycho had a problem and until they figured out who he was or what it was he was really after, she couldn't risk the news of her possibly being pregnant again, getting out.

"Max…" Kenny started but the glare he received shut him up real fast.

"If you even think about bringing that up at work, then the couch will be where you are sleeping." Max said with a sweet smile on her face, one that Kenny recognized as being false and only used when she made promises that went very nice.

"Fine, but when we get home tonight, no more avoiding the issue. I want you to take a test and I want you to talk with me about this whole thing." Kenny said evenly. He hated it when she tried to avoid talking about something important and if she turned out to be expecting, then it would mean that she would need to be extra careful.

"I don't want this to affect my job, Kenny. Not right now with this creep on the loose. You know how this town talks, and the last thing I want is someone to find a test in the trash with the result on it that could cause him to go off the deep end." Max said, making her fears clear.

"We can figure this whole thing out, together." Kenny said softly, giving her a tender smile and making it clear that he loved her and he wanted to be there for her, because that's what a husband did.

* * *

Jill was really nervous as she looked around the department. She had decided that she couldn't hold in her news any longer and she wanted to talk to Jimmy. She had meant to tell him the night before, but something had come up and he had ended up working through the night and crashing at the station, like he had done during the last big investigation like this. Jill hated the thought that he wouldn't be happy with her news, well their news, and she hated the thought that his lack of sleep would make him react differently than he usually would. At the same time, she knew that he had enjoyed having Ella around, and that should work in her favor, she hoped.

Jill knocked on his office door and when she heard the shouted come in, she walked inside and closed the door, locking it and lowering the blinds. Jimmy seemed to recognize that she wanted this to be private because he pressed a button on his phone and told someone outside to hold all calls and to leave him alone for a few minutes. His blinds on the windows were already closed and he just leaned back in his chair and stared at her, and Jill knew this was her moment. She had to figure out the best way to tell her husband the news she was so terrified to tell him.

"I want to have another baby; this is something you already know. So I talked to another doctor, a friend of mine and she helped me by running some tests and figuring some things out. Jimmy this is something that is important to me. She ran all the tests and she gave me a script for some special vitamins and stuff that should help get my body ready to conceive and I want you on board with this whole thing." Jill said evenly as she leaned against the door.

"Do you even know if you can conceive naturally now?" Jimmy asked calmly, his eyes clearly showed how much shock he was really in.

"No, which is why I want to do in Vitro." Jill said as she bit her bottom lip. "I mean it is possible that I could have another baby conceived naturally but the odds are slim to none and I need you to be onboard with this, please."

Jimmy stared at her and sighed. "Give me some time to think about it. We can talk when I get home tonight, and I should be home on time tonight unless there is another murder, which we are all hoping there isn't."

"This guy has been silent for a bit too long for your liking, hasn't he?" Jill asked, seeing the worry in her husbands eyes.

"Way too long." Jimmy agreed nodding as he stood up and walked to his wife. He kissed her lightly on the lips and winked at her in their special way before unlocking the door and opening it so she could leave. "I love you."

"I love you to." Jill said as she gave him a quick hug before leaving.

* * *

He wasn't sure what was going to happen once he was finished with his new masterpiece but he had decided to kill his latest victim in a different manner. He was going to do something special with this body and he was going to make a statement, one he knew the town of Rome would never forget. But the most important thing about this, was that Max would never forget it and she wouldn't be able to deny that she was the reason he was here, any longer. Max would have to acknowledge him and he would have to be the first and only person she thought about. Maybe she would finally see that Kenny was the wrong man for her, maybe all this hard work he was doing for her would make her see that she didn't belong with him. He wasn't in love with her, maybe he might be, but this was about revenge. This was about getting even and he would find a way to do that, and maybe get what he wanted out of it to. He looked down at his latest victim and smiled the smile he knew scared the women the most. She now knew there was no hope for her getting out of here alive, and he watched the way her eyes lost the light of hope, and become emotionless as she succumbed to the knowledge of what was going to happen to her.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Max looked up as Kenny put a test down in front of her. She had just finished doing the dinner dishes and Kenny had run out to do some errands. Max rolled her eyes, knowing he would have made sure not to buy the test in Rome, so that was probably why he had been gone as long as he had been. Max wasn't sure if she was ready to take this test, but she was well aware that Kenny wasn't going to wait any longer for an answer. She sighed and grabbed the test, glancing at Ella who was coloring in her coloring book quietly. Kenny smiled and nodded, knowing she wanted him to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't come looking for mommy, since neither of them were ready to tell her what they were thinking was going on. They weren't going to say anything, to anyone at all, until after the first trimester.

Max was also aware she would need to go and see a doctor in another town to get a checkup, unless she went and saw Jill for it, since she knew that Jill wouldn't say anything and would find a way to make sure no one else found out what she was there for. They had run tests in the past using a Jane Doe number, so that no one would know that it was for her. Jill had also run tests like that for herself in the past, something Max was well aware of.

As Max read through the directions, she was getting more and more nervous, almost to the point of telling her husband she really didn't want to do this, but she knew that wouldn't get her very far with him tonight. Finally she took the test, and used her phone for the timer, waiting for the results in the bedroom, and she knew it was probably killing Kenny to not be in there with her, since this was something he really wanted her to do.

* * *

Jimmy looked at his wife and knew that she was waiting impatiently for his answer. Sighing he leaned back in his kitchen chair and waited for the boys to head upstairs and he watched his daughter closely. He was constantly worried about his daughter, mainly because he knew she was still very fragile and guilt ridden after all that had happened with Max and the psycho that had controlled her. Kim was having a hard time with the knowledge that she could have not only killed Max but also Ella, who wasn't born at the time. Kim was having more and more trouble sleeping. Especially with the new killer out there and Jimmy was concerned that it was going to cause something serious with his only daughter. He wasn't certain she would be able to handle it if Jill got pregnant again, and he wasn't sure why this was so important to his wife either.

After they were alone and finally sitting in the living room area, a fire going in the fireplace, Jimmy knew his wife expected to have to fight with him over this whole thing. He had watched her grab paperwork and knew it was research and statistics. Jill was going to use everything she had to convince him that this was the right thing for their family, and she knew what he would be using to argue against any pregnancy, apparently.

"This is something you really, absolutely want?" Jimmy asked her softly.

"Yes." Jill said, her eyes widening in shock that he wasn't automatically saying no.

"Do you think the kids can all handle this big of a change right now?" Jimmy asked, deciding asking questions instead of just saying no, would be a better thing at the moment.

"I think that after watching them with Ella, they would all love having a little one around again." Jill said with a gentle smile.

"Do you think Kim can handle it?" Jimmy asked, showing the true fear that he had.

"I think it might help Kim heal. Kim needs to be treated normally, and she needs to see that everything worked out, that she didn't kill anyone really and that it's time for her to move on with her life. Kim needs to see that we believe she can have her life back, instead of us trying to treat her with kid gloves all the time." Jill said.

"All right, let's go over the financial cost of this whole In Vitro thing, and then figure out when is a good time to give this a shot." Jimmy said, and he could see the surprise and happiness on his wife's face and he knew he had made the right decision.

* * *

He was not a happy camper, and he wasn't sure how to make this better at the moment. He had watched Kenny leave town, and he had followed him. He saw him buy a few pregnancy tests, with a big smile on his face as he confided in the cashier that he was excited to see if he and his wife were having their second child. He wasn't as excited as Kenny was about this whole thing, because Max had no right having another baby with this stupid creep, and in fact, he didn't want her having another baby, period. He was going to have to make sure she understood this was unacceptable, and she better hope the test comes back negative, because if it comes back that she is expecting he was going to have to kill that child inside of her, and she wasn't going to come out that attack, unscathed.

* * *

Max looked up as Kenny walked into the room. Max had already read the test results and knew what the answer was, she had just been sitting in the bedroom trying to think about what this whole thing would mean. She knew that Kenny was impatient, and the look on his face showed he wasn't thrilled she hadn't come straight out and told him what the test showed. Max had actually taken all of the tests he had bought, like they usually do, to check the results. All three tests came back with the same answer. "Positive." She said softly.

Max watched as her husband's face showed shock and then he slowly smiled and then he laughed as he yanked her up and into his arms. He was laughing and kissing her and swinging her around and holding her tightly. "We are having another baby!" Kenny said laughing. "I am so happy right now babe. I love you so much." Kenny said as he kissed her on the lips and then set her on her feet. He dropped to his knees and pushed her shirt up and kissed her stomach. "Hey there baby, I am your daddy and I love you so much. Your mama and I are going to take good care of you, and your big sister, Ella, is going to love you so much baby." Kenny said and then he kissed her stomach again.

Max slowly felt a smile creep across her face and she realized this was the best thing for their family and she felt nothing but true happiness and she knew this was it, the way it was supposed to be. But she couldn't help the feeling of fear that crept into her heart as well, the fear that the killer would know about the baby and that it would send him so over the deep end that he tried something big, that he tried to kill her baby or he killed someone else out of revenge.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Max wasn't sure what she was going to say if anyone asked her why she wasn't feeling well, especially since she and Kenny had the agreement that no one was to be told anything about her possibly being pregnant until they were past the first trimester and the pregnancy was confirmed by a doctor. Kenny felt that going to see Jill would work out, because Jill knew that Max wouldn't want Jimmy knowing until the first trimester had passed, but Max wasn't as confident as Kenny in that fact. Max knew that in the past Jill had confided things to her husband that were supposed to be kept quiet and it worried Max that Jill might confide this to him as well.

With all the extra help around, Max wasn't surprised when a couple of new deputies walked in. She knew they were probably on loan from another agency, especially now with the killer making it clear he had big plans and he was going to kill someone they weren't expecting. Jimmy had every cop, politician and even their judge on high alert at the moment. Now she could see that a couple of the new ones brought in were most likely going to be annoying to her. Max sat at her desk and started to go over some of the new information they had gotten on a couple of tip lines and she was shocked to see someone she didn't expect to see at their office, and she knew that Kenny wasn't going to be thrilled.

"Max, hi, it's been a long time." Deputy Karen James said as she smiled at her.

"Karen, what are you doing here?" Max asked, not even sure that Karen knew that she and Kenny were married with a daughter.

"Well, they needed someone to come out here and replace a couple of deputies, since they don't like to make us drive out here for too long at a time, and I thought it would be a good idea. I haven't seen Kenny in a while and I thought maybe now would be a good time." Karen said nervously. "The truth is, I am more than ready to settle down and Kenny and I, well, I just think we would be good together."

"You know that…" Max was cut off as someone else walked over and started to talk to Karen about something. Max looked around the room and was relieved to see Kenny talking to Jimmy about something. She was going to go to him, to talk to him about Karen, when she suddenly turned her attention back to Max.

"Sorry about that. Look, I know that you and Kenny have a past and that you two are very close as partners, I just want to make it clear that when we work things out, I will expect him to take a new partner or transfer to my agency." Karen said evenly. "I will expect him to cut ties with you personally. I just don't think that two exes should be talking like that, or working together."

Max opened her mouth to talk but Kenny appeared at her side at that moment. "Karen, what are you doing here?" Kenny asked with a frown. He placed his hand on Max's lower back, making it clear that she had nothing to worry about and he was clearly trying to comfort her.

"I am working the case now. I was thinking, can we talk alone?" Karen asked, shooting a look at Max.

"No, whatever you need to say can be done in front of Max." Kenny said, unsure.

"I think we should give it another shot Kenny. I think we should work on things and I do believe we can be a great family. I gave it some thought and I am ready for marriage and kids, and I think we could be very happy together." Karen said as she slightly moved towards Kenny.

Kenny was in shock apparently but he pulled himself together quickly. "I'm sorry Karen, but that's not a possibility."

"Kenny, we belong together. If you have a girlfriend, I am sure that I will make you happier than she would." Karen was clearly frustrated.

"I have a wife and a daughter." Kenny said evenly. "No one would make me happier than my wife and our beautiful little girl."

Karen's mouth dropped but she recovered quickly. "I would be a good step mom. You don't need to stay with someone because of a child."

"I love my wife very much." It was clear Kenny was getting annoyed. "In fact, this is my wife right here. Max and I are happy together and we love our little girl, very much. We want to have more kids and we plan to be together forever." Kenny snapped.

Karen glared at Max but she didn't say another word. Max knew that Karen was going to be making her life miserable, which was the last thing she needed at the moment, but she was glad to see Kenny make himself clear.

"Are we ever going to have people around who don't want to ruin our marriage and hit on us?" Max joked lightly.

* * *

He was pacing back and forth inside his new hideout and he wondered what he should do next to make himself very clear. He had already gotten together a list of people that he would kill that would make a statement in just being killed, but he needed more than that. He had decided to practice on someone who wasn't as well known, someone who wasn't important to the city and get the hang of how people would react. At the moment he had a camera on his new friend and had decided that recording his torture and his kills so that Max could see what she caused people to feel, well, that was real good, he just wished he could see her face when she watched what was happening to other people because of him.

He walked back over to the table and put on his mask and gloves, everything else was already covered, and he had the color contacts in his eyes so he knew no one would see their real color, and then he walked back into the room. He walked over and pulled out several instruments that looked painful, he knew how bad this was about to get, and how bloody. He grinned at the camera. "Time to go to work." He chuckled and got excited as the woman screamed in terror and in pain. He was definitely happy to have a camera watching, because now Max could see how bad things were gonna get for her, and he couldn't wait for that.


	13. Chapter 13

Authors Note:

Hey Everyone, so sorry it has taken me so long to get this story updated! I havent been doing well and there was a heart attack in the family that shook the family up. So I am trying to figure out ways to make sure I can get updates to you guys faster...

Please keep patient with me and keep reading and reviewing. It helps me feel like you all still are enjoying the chapters... even if it is taking me a while to get you the updates you deserve.

Kris

* * *

Chapter 13

Max was feeling sick to her stomach as she looked at the body that was lying dead in the tall grass. She was on patrol and had been flagged down by a jogger and she could see that the young woman was looking the same way that she was at the moment. Max grabbed her radio and she called it in, requesting back up and the coroner to come out to the area. She knew she needed to pull herself together, as quickly as possible, because no one besides Kenny knew there was a possibility that baby number two was resting in her belly. Max was beginning to think that Kenny was right in wondering if she should just get Jill to confirm the pregnancy so that she could sit at a desk and not have to worry about coming out to these scenes, although since this was her case and had been for a long time, since the beginning really, she knew that Jimmy would most likely request that she go out to the scenes once they were secure, even if he knew she was carrying her second child.

Max rolled her eyes and wanted to groan aloud, but she managed to hold it in as she saw Karen heading her way. As she waited patiently she watched as Karen sauntered over to where she was standing and look at the body, very closely. Max was wondering when someone else was going to get there, but in the meantime, it looked like Karen was going to take advantage of the fact that she was the first to arrive to assist Max.

"You look a bit peaked, are you having trouble with these scenes now? I mean, if you can't do your job then I can work this beat and maybe back up Kenny so you can sit around and do whatever it is you think you can do. Maybe, being a sheriff's deputy isn't what you want to do any longer." Karen said as she arched an eyebrow and stared at Max.

He was watching as Max held in her temper. He knew she wanted to go off on the female officer standing not to far from her, but she was holding her temper in because of the fact that the witness who found the body was still standing there and shaking. He knew she was trying to be considerate of the young woman and she was trying to act professional, which only made him laugh more. He wasn't sure what it was he thought of this female, he wasn't sure if he liked her for getting under Max's skin or if it pissed him off that she was trying to keep Max away from his scenes, when they were made just for her. He frowned, if Max didn't go to his scenes any longer because of this chick, then he was going to have to teach the cops a lesson.

"Oh don't worry Max, if she tries to have you pulled away from seeing my handy work, then I will make sure everyone pays until you are back out here, at my special scenes." He murmured as he watched her more.

Max smiled as she read Ella her bed time story. It had shaken Max to see the message that was left for her on the body, which was only seen when the coroner had lifted the shirt a bit to take a liver temp. When they had seen that there appeared to be something carved into the belly, Max waited until the shirt was lifted and they were all able to see the message and that it was addressed to Max. Max had been grateful when Kenny had slipped his arm around her waist and gently led her away from the body and to his patrol vehicle. He pulled her close and rubbed her back through her uniform and bullet proof vest. Max had wanted to turn around and deck Karen when she had headed over and started to flirt with Kenny, while making Max feel angry and sick to her stomach about some of the things that were being said. She had also been pissed off that Kenny hadn't told her to go away at that moment.

"Hey, come on let's sit down and eat something." Kenny said softly. He had been cooking their grown up dinner after Max had thrown together something kid friendly for Ella to eat quickly and then she had gotten her ready for bed since they had gotten home later than usual.

Max shrugged after kissing her daughter's forehead and she headed out of the room so Kenny could kiss Ella's forehead good night as well.

"I know you're angry about something." Kenny said, sometime later as they sat at the table and were eating dinner.

Max looked up at him and then sighed. "Karen is still determined to be with you and when I was upset earlier, she was flirting with you and instead of telling her to go away so that I wouldn't be so humiliated at how upset I was, you let her stay there and you let her flirt with you. It was clear you enjoyed the attention." She said softly.

"I didn't enjoy her attention, I just…" Kenny stopped as he saw that Max was serious about this.

"I love you, I love us being a family with Ella and possibly the new baby but sometimes it seems like you don't. I almost think you miss being single and being able to go out with or sleep with…" Max was stopped as she was startled by Kenny getting up and then pulling her to her feet and kissing her on the lips. When he finally broke apart, he just held her as they stood next to the table.

"You, our little girl and as many babies as we end up having, will always be my world, I love being a father and a husband. I love being a member of this family and getting to make memories together." Kenny sad softly.

"Are you sure?" Max asked, feeling herself settle down as she could see it in her husband's eyes.

"Positive. I don't want Karen and I will never want another woman." Kenny said with a smug little grin. "After all, I happen to know this one woman who loves me and all the things we can do in the…" Kenny was cut off by Max's lips as they both were laughing.

* * *

He had a new plan and he had a new idea. He wanted Max to suffer and the more he thought about it the more she would suffer if he slowly made her entire life implode. He looked over at the woman who was chained against his wall and then back at the monitors that showed him what was going on inside Max and Kenny's home. He had to admit, he was rather hoping that Kenny would decide to go out with this Karen, that way it would leave Max in a vulnerable position. He turned his attention back to the woman fully and realized that he knew what to do to get under Max's skin, and as soon as she least expected it, he was going to give her an amazing present.

"Well, my dear, I hate to tell you this, but you trusted the wrong person, and now, it's my play time." He grinned as he turned on the electric torture machine and watched as her eyes widened and she tried to scream behind her gag in fear. She wasn't attached to it, she wasn't feeling the pain that she would as soon as she was finally attached to the machine, but this time, it was about show and tell, he was going to show her all his fun toys, the ones he would use on her, and that would make everything more vivid and real, because now she would know how much it would hurt and she would know what was about to happen to her, he loved his new plans and his new job, it was fun to him.

* * *

Max was lying awake in bed and she had a very bad feeling. She knew something was about to happen but she didn't know what it was. Suddenly the house was rocked by what seemed to be some explosion, and Max could see the flames as the house seemed to have something next to it that was on fire, something that wouldn't take long to take the house.

"Kenny wake up! There's a fire!" Max shouted. She watched as Kenny grabbed their weapons and badges and couple of other things as she ran and grabbed Ella. She could feel her heart racing as she heard Kenny talking to the 911 operator at the sheriff's department. Whoever had caused this explosion they had done a good job.

They both realized the house was about to catch as they tried to find out which way was the safer to exit, smoke was filling the house and Max was covering Ella's mouth so that she wouldn't breathe in too much smoke. Kenny had grabbed the photo box and thrown their badges and guns and a couple of Ella's favorite toys that she had to have, as they made their way out, Max was clutching Ella and they could hear her whimpering. Suddenly it was clear there was a lot more smoke then they had thought and Max could feel herself fading, and soon she really only saw blackness.


End file.
